marcapra wrote:Yes, they are kind of like the paperback editions of the albums, whereas the Victor and Columbia albums were the hardbacks. Victor did press budget versions of classical music with less well known conductors and orchestras on black labels with flimsy stiff boards for album covers. I have a few of these. It was their albums for budget minded buyers.
Not necessarily "less well known conductors and orchestras," although to be sure the "top end," "superstar" category conductors were not included. I think that series, the black label "G" sets, was more like, say, Seraphim or Odyssey from the LP era--primarily older recordings, either demoted from the main Red Seal catalogue or licensed from Europe. For instance, Frederick Stock's account of the Tchaikowsky 5th Sym. with the Chicago SO shows up in both formats, and I'm pretty sure the series also included a Schubert "Unfinished" under Pablo Casals.